Stakeholder Engagement & Social Licence to Operate

Permitting delays, community opposition, and political uncertainty are the leading non-technical causes of project failure. They are also the most preventable — if addressed early enough. The developers who engage communities and government stakeholders before they are required to are the ones whose projects advance. We combine hands-on stakeholder engagement experience with strategic communications across complex geographies, technologies, and political environments.

People in a garden or farm, including a woman in a checkered shirt smiling and gardening, and children and a man planting or harvesting plants.

Community support is the most underleveraged tool in project development. We help you secure it early, navigate the permitting landscape, and build the relationships that clear the path to FID.

01
Community Engagement & Social Licence

02
Policy & Government Relations

03
ESIA Management & Oversight

04
Human Rights & Social Performance

05
Technology Specific Comms

06
Media Strategy & Public Relations

01

Community Engagement & Social Licence

Formal engagement often starts during the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) stage, by which time communities are already on the back foot. Investing upfront to map local stakeholders, power structures, and priorities creates operational efficiencies and supports both permitting and capital raising. It can also reshape the project itself: community insights and local partnerships surface co-benefits and commercial adjacencies that strengthen the development concept.

    • Stakeholder mapping and analysis

    • Indigenous Peoples and vulnerable community engagement protocols

    • Benefit-sharing and community investment strategy design

    • Social performance frameworks with measurable outcomes

    • Discourse analysis for brownfield or partially developed projects

    • Opportunity identification and shaping through structured community engagement

    • Public consultation design and facilitation

    • Community information campaigns for complex technologies - Carbon Capture & Storage, hydrogen, Power to X

    • Multilingual engagement in English, French, Serbian, and Spanish

    • Community-facing project websites, feedback portals, and information hubs

    • Grievance mechanism design, implementation, and monitoring

    • Integrated engagement plans embedded in project timelines

    • Work to obtain social licence commenced before the permitting process begins

    • Community dynamics understood and managed proactively, not reactively

    • Meaningful engagement that meets both regulatory minimums and international best practice

    • Local partnerships and co-benefits integrated into the project concept

    • A track record of transparency that strengthens investor confidence

Business meeting in a modern office with large windows showing green trees, where a diverse group of professionals engages in discussion with a senior man standing and leading the conversation.
Business meeting in a modern office with large windows showing green trees, where a diverse group of professionals engages in discussion with a senior man standing and leading the conversation.

02

Policy & Government Relations

Local government actors often overlook the national and international significance of renewable energy and infrastructure projects. National government actors can underestimate local impact and sentiment. We position projects to appeal at both levels by combining regulatory substance with politically astute communications.

    • Input to policy consultations on environmental and social standards in line with project objectives

    • Engagement and collaboration on international industry standards

    • Sourcing right-sized local support on policy lobbying and analysis

    • Pre-submission reviews of permitting documentation

    • Political stakeholder mapping and analysis of national development plans

    • Public affairs strategy and government engagement plans

    • Policy translation: framing technical ESG requirements in language policymakers understand

    • Representation at international forums and policy events

    • Coalition-building for complex multi-stakeholder projects

    • Projects positioned to resonate with both local and national decision-makers

    • Political risks identified and managed early in the development timeline

    • Regulatory relationships established before they are needed under pressure

    • Government stakeholders informed and supportive

03

Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Management & Oversight

A poorly scoped or poorly managed ESIA can delay permitting, add significant costs, fail investor due diligence, or miss environmental and social risks that surface too late. Many developers don't know what good looks like, what questions to ask, or they simply do not have the time to manage what can be an intense contractor relationship. We don't conduct environmental and social impact assessments ourselves, but we can ensure your contractor delivers what your project, regulators, investors, and communities actually need.

    • Defining environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) scope and terms of reference aligned with project technical requirements, regulatory standards and project financing strategy

    • Contractor selection support: evaluating proposals, assessing technical capability, checking track records in relevant geographies and sectors

    • Budget and timeline reality-checking - resourcing the ESIA to deliver project value not just compliance

    • Identifying scope gaps before procurement: social baseline, cumulative impacts, biodiversity, climate risk

    • Managing the ESIA contractor relationship on your behalf

    • Review of draft ESIA outputs for technical rigour, regulatory compliance, and investor credibility

    • Ensuring stakeholder engagement meets regulatory minimums and international best practice standards

    • Integrating community intelligence and social risk findings into the ESIA process - not bolting it on at the end

    • Coordinating between ESIA contractor, project and technical team, legal advisors, and community engagement workstreams

    • A fit for purpose ESIA that satisfies regulators, investors, and communities and enhances project value

    • Carefully managed contractor performance to deliver quality, not just compliance

    • Scope gaps and risks caught before they turn into permitting delays

    • Community and social risk findings integrated into the assessment, not treated as an afterthought

Two men with beards and curly hair standing in a lush green outdoor setting, looking at a clipboard held by one of them. Both are wearing green shirts, one has sunglasses hanging from his shirt, and the other has a yellow towel tucked into his waistband. They appear to be discussing something related to gardening or outdoor activity.
Two men with beards and curly hair standing in a lush green outdoor setting, looking at a clipboard held by one of them. Both are wearing green shirts, one has sunglasses hanging from his shirt, and the other has a yellow towel tucked into his waistband. They appear to be discussing something related to gardening or outdoor activity.

04

Human Rights & Social Performance

Human rights due diligence is becoming a regulatory requirement across the EU and a standard expectation from DFIs and institutional investors. For developers operating in complex geographies, demonstrating systematic human rights risk management is a condition of financing, a permitting requirement, and a reputational imperative. This is an area where getting it right also creates tangible project value: well-designed benefit-sharing and governance mechanisms build the local coalitions that sustain projects over decades.

    • Human rights and the rights of Indigenous Peoples - frameworks, policies, and implementation tools

    • Supply chain risk screening including labour and working conditions assessments

    • Involuntary resettlement and land acquisition frameworks

    • Social performance frameworks with measurable KPIs

    • Benefit-sharing, community investment, or other community participation strategy

    • Shared governance mechanisms and organisational design for effective social performance management

    • Community and rights-holder engagement strategies for complex and sensitive contexts

    • Grievance mechanism design, implementation, and monitoring

    • Strategies for obtaining or working towards free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC)

    • Human rights risk narratives for investor and lender audiences

    • Training for project teams on human rights obligations and best practices

    • Human rights risks systematically identified, managed, and documented

    • Benefit-sharing and governance structures that build lasting local support

    • FPIC processes that meet international standards and investor expectations

    • Project teams equipped to manage human rights obligations in the field

    • A human rights record that strengthens rather than jeopardises financing

05

Technology-Specific Communications

Building a project vision for technologies like CCS, green hydrogen, or even onshore wind requires strong support from communities, governments, and potential partners. Offering accessible information to non-technical audiences as early as possible reduces anxiety, demonstrates transparency, and empowers stakeholders to engage meaningfully rather than reactively.

    • Identification of environmental, social, and governance implications across technologies

    • Technical accuracy review of all public-facing materials

    • Risk characterisation aligned with environmental and social standards and investor mandates

    • Scientific and environmental substantiation for public communications

    • Narrative development for CCS/CCUS, green hydrogen, PtX, advanced nuclear, long-duration storage

    • Tailored messaging for communities, regulators, media, and investors

    • Addressing public fears and misconceptions with evidence-based communications

    • Spokesperson training for technical teams communicating to non-technical audiences

    • Community Q&A materials, fact sheets, and explainer content

    • Complex technologies explained in terms every audience can engage with

    • Public-facing materials that are technically accurate and accessible

    • Communities informed early enough to participate meaningfully

    • Technical teams able to communicate confidently outside their expertise

    • A foundation of public understanding that supports permitting and social licence

A professional video camera filming a woman giving a presentation or interview in a library filled with books.
A professional video camera filming a woman giving a presentation or interview in a library filled with books.

06

Media Strategy & Public Relations

Media coverage of energy and infrastructure projects is often shaped by opposition groups, local politics, or misinformation - especially for unfamiliar technologies. A proactive media strategy positions the project on its own terms and gives your team the tools to respond if coverage goes sideways.

    • Proactive and reactive media strategy for regional, national, and trade coverage

    • Fractional media management, identifying and managing key media outlets, preparation of press releases and other communications assets and tools

    • Development of key messages, position statements and policy positions on known material ESG risks

    • Spokesperson preparation and messaging frameworks for sensitive topics

    • Crisis communications planning and rapid response protocols

    • Media training for technical and leadership teams

    • Media monitoring and early warning systems

    • Stakeholder perception tracking

    • Rapid response messaging and coordination

    • Post-crisis review and strategy adjustment

    • Your project narrative established on your terms before others define it

    • Spokespersons prepared and confident across media settings

    • Crisis protocols in place before they are needed

    • Reputational risks identified and managed in real time

Get in Touch

Whether you're planning a project and want to get the ESG and communications foundations right from the start, or you’re trying to craft a board presentation with all the right data and messages, we'd love to hear from you.

Contact Us